Conventional engine systems commonly include a starter motor, a flywheel, and a vehicle engine. Responsive to operation of an ignition switch, the starter motor is operable to deliver a force directly to the flywheel of the engine to rotate the flywheel and start the engine.
While such systems adequately start a vehicle engine, they do not facilitate continual starting and stopping of the vehicle engine because the torque required by the starter motor to rotate the flywheel and start the engine cannot be rapidly generated. In this manner, conventional systems require vehicles to remain running when temporarily stopped such as at traffic lights and railroad crossings.
Further, while use of a larger starter motor may provide sufficient torque to rapidly and start a vehicle engine on demand, and may significantly reduce disparity in gear ration between the starter motor and flywheel, a larger starter motor typically creates packaging issues within an engine compartment of a vehicle. In addition, implementing a larger starter motor likely requires replacing a standard 12-volt vehicle battery/electrical system with a larger and more expensive 42-volt vehicle battery/electrical system to handle the electrical requirements of the larger starter motor.
Therefore, a need exists for a starter system arrangement that facilitates rapid and repeated starting (on-demand) of a vehicle engine when a vehicle is temporarily stopped. Additionally, such a starter system capable of operating with a conventional 12-volt vehicle battery is also desirable.